Ballast working implement and vibrated blade units therefor



June 30, 1959 1 c. JACKSON 2,892,417

BALLAST WORKING IMPLEMENT AND VIBRATED BLADE UNITS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 9, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

June 30, 1959 c. JACKSON 2,892,417

BALLAST WORKING IMPLEMENT AND VIBRATED BLADE UNITS. THEREFOR Filed Sept. 9. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "6% QZM United States Patent BALLAST WORKING IMPLEMENT AND VIBRATED BLADE UNITS THEREFOR Corwill Jackson, Ludington, Mich., assignor to Jackson Vibrators, Inc., Ludington, Mich.

Application September 9, 1953, Serial No. 379,202 Claims. (Cl. 104-13) This invention relates to ballast working implements and vibrated blade units therefor.

The main objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a ballast working implement adapted both for the loosening and working compacted ballast in a railway road bed and also for the tamping of ballast which is of very large capacity and may be manipulated with relatively small amount of manual effort.

Second, to provide a vibratory ballast working unit which when employed to loosen compacted ballast and also as a tamper has a laterally or sidewise walking or translating movement resulting in a plowing action on the compacted ballast and very effective in working the ballast under the .rail supporting portion of a railway tie being tamped.

Third, to provide a structure of this type with laterally spaced blades which are tiltingly adjustable relative to a vibrated support on which they are mounted and relative to each other.

' Fourth, to provide a vibrated ballast working unit having' blades mounted for adjustment through a very considerable range to meet varying working conditions.

Fifth, to provide a vibrated blade unit having these several advantageswhich is economical in its parts and at the same time capable of withstanding very severe usage.

Objects relating to details and economies of the invention will appear from the description to follow. The invention is defined and pointed out'in the claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

' Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of a manually manipulated ballast working implement embodying my invention with portions of the motor housing broken away to disclose the unbalanced rotor therein.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view, the unbalancing rotor being indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view illustrating the ballast working implement in one operative position relative to ballast, a tie and a rail which are shown conventionally.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view further showing the relation of'the implement to a ballast tie and a rail.

Fig; 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view partially in section showing details of the handle and its connection to the vibratory unit.

Fig: 6 is a fragmentary'view illustrating details'of the blade adjustment and ablade having a modified form of tip. i

It is desired to point out that while I have illustrated my invention in a manually manipulated implement the vibrated blade unit has been adapted to and is highly desirable and eificient for use in a multiple unit power machine such as is illustrated in my Patent No. 2,482,111 issued September 20, 1949, vibratory blade units of this application being substituted for the vibratory blade units inthat patent. I have not illustrated 'such' an adaptation in this application as it is believed it will be readily understood from the description to follow. The vibratory blade unit of this application is highly desirable for use in a hand manipulated implement and greatly increases the amount of work an operator may perform and at the same time greatly reduces the effort on the part of the operator as compared to ballast working implements, such for example, as are illustrated in my Patent No. 2,239,785 dated April 29, 1941, which implements have been and are still being extensively used.

In the accompanying drawing 1 represents ballast of a railroad, 2 a tie and 3' a rail and in Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated certain working positions of the implement of my invention relative to these parts. It will be understood, of course, that the implement is manipulated ordinarily in various positions relative to these parts as may be deemed desirable or effective to accomplish the result sought.

The embodiment of my invention comprises a vibratory motor designated generally by the numeral 4 and including a housing 5 and rotor 6 having an unbalancing Weight 7. Electrical connections are indicated at 8, the control switches not being illustrated.

A plate-like blade head member 9 is rigidly secured to the housing end member 10 by means of bolts 11. This blade head member 9v is of substantial width and is provided with vertically spaced bolt receiving holes 111, these bolt holes being arranged in laterally spaced sets. The blades 12 and 13 are desirably duplicates in size and shape. It will be noted that the blades have bolt receiving holes 14 and transverse bolt receiving slots 15 adapted to receive the bolts 16 and 17. The bolts 16 in addition to serving as blade clamp bolts serve as pivot bolts. The bolts 17 are arranged through the slots 15 so that the blades may be tiltingly adjusted on the bolts 16. The blades are desirably adjusted to the same angle as is illustrated. I

The blades have forwardly curved tips 18 anddesir- I ably have beveled or angled edge portions 19, the bevels base portion 21 and grip portion bolts 29 and 30 respectively to or angles being in the same direction.

The handle 20 is' desirably bar-like and is provided with a telescopingly adjustable shank consisting of the 22. The base portion 21 is longitudinally slotted at 23 to receive the clamp 24 for securing the shank portion 22 in its adjusted position. The base portion 21 of the handle shank is secured to the flexible nonextensible strap 25 which is secured at its ends to the handle brackets 26 and 27 secured by the the motor housing. The handle shank base member 21 is secured to this strap by the clamping plates 31. It will be noted that the grip or bar portion of the handle is disposed substantially parallel in the plane of the axis of the rotor. This connection for the handle to the vibrated unit serves as a vibration absorber and at the same time provides a connection for the handle to the blade unit which enables effective manipulation of the blade unit.

It will be noted that in this preferred embodiment the tip of one blade projects substantially below the other blade when the implement is in vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2, and that both blades are inclined relative to the vertical plane of the implement. It is also desired to point out that the unbalanced rotor tends to travel or move in a circular orbit so that the force delivered thereby tends to shift or alternate from one blade to the other. This prevents the setting up of a center of vibration at the tip of the blade as tends to occur with a single blade arranged, as in the patent referred to,

necessitating or making desirable the manual Withdrawal of the blade and repositioning it relative to the ballast that is being loosened or .tamped. With the arrangement of the blades as in my present invention, this condition does not arise and the blades have a walking or sidewise translation and in elfect plow through the ballast.

The curving of the tips of 'the blades is not important tothat action but it is desirable in working and tamping the ballast under the tie, as is'illustratedin Fig. '4, as the curved tips tend to move the blades'towards'the tie. The lateral travel of the blades in the ballast is important as it works the ballast underthe rail supporting portion ofthe tie where the most'e'ffective tamping is desired. I have attempted to illustrate this action in Fig. 3.

' One of the highly desirable features of my invention both when used as *a'hand manipulated implement and when incorporated in power implements, such as shown in my'patent referred'to, is that-the ballastis not subjected to an impactor hammering action either in loosening the ballast or in tamping the tie such as would be likely to crush the ballast.

In this connection it should be understood that the road beds become'rough owing to sags occurring therein and are frequently leveled without the placement of new ballast. The ballast becomes more or less cemented and compacted together as a result of accumulation of cinders, dirt and the like and is very difficult to loosen. The vibrated plowing action of the blade unit of this invention is highly eflicient in loosening and working such ballast. The vibratory unit of my invention is highly effective in tamping ballast. In leveling up a track that is not supplied with new ballast the rails are jacked up at the low points to the desired level and ballast loosened and retamped to properly support the ties in the new position.

As I have stated, the tampers or ballast working implement of the type shown, for example, in my patent 2,239,785 have been and are very extensively used. However, my present invention as adapted to a manually manipulated implement increases the output of work fully 50% and with less effort on the part of the operator.

I have illustrated my invention in a highly practical embodiment thereof. I have not attempted to illustrate or describe other embodiments or adaptations as it is believed that this disclosure will enable those skilled in the art to embody or adapt my invention as may be desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a ballast working implement the combination of a vibratory motor including a housing and a rotor provided with an unbalancing weight, the axis of the rotor being disposed generally horizontally when the implement is in an upright position, a head plate rigidly mounted on said housing in generally perpendicular relation to the axis of said rotor, blades of flat section having forwardly curved tips with edge portions thereof angled in the same direction, said blades having fiat shanks provided with vertically spaced bolt receiving holes and transverse bolt receiving slots, said head plate having laterally spaced sets of vertically spaced bolt holes, and bolts engaged with the bolt holes and slots of the blade shanks and selectively engageable with said bolt holes in said head plate for adjustably securing the blades to said head plate with'the tip of one blade projecting below the tip of the other.

2. 'In a ballast workingimplement the combination 'of a vibratory motor including a housing and a rotor provided with an unbalancing weight, the axis of the rotor being disposed generally horizontally when the implement isin'an upright position, a head platerigidly mounted on .said housing in generally perpendicular relation to the axis of said rotor, blades provided with vertically spaced'bolt receiving holes andtransverse bolt receiving slots, said head plate having laterally spaced sets of vertically spaced bolt holes, and bolts engaged with the boltholes and slots of the blades andselectivelyengageable with said bolt holes in said head plate for adjustably securing the blades to said head plate.

3. In a ballast working device, the combination of a vibratory motor including a Housing and a rotor provided with an unbalancing weight acting to impart vibration to the housing in a general orbital path transversely of the axis of the rotor, the axis of the rotor being disposed generally horizontally when the device is suspended in upright working position, a blade head member rigidly connected to said housing in'a generally perpendicular relation to the horizontal plane passing through the axis of the rotor, blades having forwardly curved lower end portions supportedly mounted on said head member with their flat sides generally parallel to the head member to project downwardly therefrombelow'said housing with their curved lower end portions directedforwardly away from the opposite side of said head member from said housing with the lower end of one blade projecting substantially beyond the horizontal plane of the lower end of the other blade, the lower edges of the blade being beveled in the same direction, said blades being disposed on said head member in substantially laterally spaced relation to each other and with one blade on each side of and in substantially spaced relation to the vertical plane of the axis of the rotor, the space between the blades being unobstructed and the lateral spacing of the blades relative to each other and to the vertical plane of the axis of the rotor being such that when the device is in use the vibratory longitudinal movement of one blade is upward when movement of the other is downward.

4. In a ballast working device, the combination of a vibratory motor including a housing and a rotor provided with an unbalancing Weight acting to impart vibration to the housing in a general orbital path transversely of the axis of the rotor, the axis of the rotor being disposed generally horizontally when the device is suspended in upright working position, a blade head member rigidly connected to said housing in a generally perpendicular relation to the horizontal plane passing through the axis of the rotor, blades having forwardly curved lower end portions supportedly mounted on said head member with their flat sides generally parallel to the head member to project downwardly therefrom below said housing with their curved lower end portions directed forwardly away from the opposite side of said head member from said housing with the lower end of one blade projecting'substantially beyond the horizontal plane of the lower end of the other blade, said blades being disposed on said head member in substantially laterally spaced relation to each other and with one blade on each side of and in substantially spaced relation to the vertical plane of the axis of the rotor, the space between the blades being unobstructed and the lateral spacing of the blades relative to each other and to the vertical plane of the axis of the rotor being such that when the device is in use the vibratory'longitudinal movement of one blade is upward when movement of the other is downward.

5. In a ballast working device, the combination of a vibratory motor including a housing and a rotor provided with an unbalancing weight acting to impart vibration to the housing in a general orbital path transversely of the axis of the rotor, the axis of the rotor being disposed generally horizontally when the device is suspended in upright working position, a blade head member rigidly connected to said housing in a generally perpendicular relation't'o the horizontal plane passing through the axis of the rotor, blades supportedly mounted on said head member with their flat sides generally parallel to the head member to project downwardly therefrom below said housingwith th e.lower end of one blade projecting 'sub-.

stantially beyond the horizontal plane of the lower; end of theother blade, said blades being disposed oneaid References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Jackson Dec. 13, 1929 Fawick Nov. 18, 1930 Pickop May 30, 1933 Jackson Nov. 22, 1938 Jackson June 4, 1940 Jackson Apr. 29, 1941 

